Moved a PSO

[Ron Nossaman]

> I moved my first grand (baby) yesterday.  It was indeed a PSO, although, 
> I would like to swap the "S" and "O" in that acronym.  This piano has no 
> name.  It does have a serial number, but no name.  The strings are 
> rusted (six were already broken), pins are rusted, damper felts coming 
> off.  The hammers looked okay.  I will be making a service call soon to 
> give it a complete evaluation and estimate.  The seller was asking $350, 
> but they got it to $300.  I probably wouldn't of spent over $200 for the 
> thing.  

$100 one way or the other is nothing compared to the $20K in 
rebuild work it needs.


>I just hope the new owner understands why they got it so 
> "cheap".  

They won't. Trust me.


>I didn't try to depress 'em by telling them they should of 
> consulted me first.  The deal was already done, what can you do?

I'd have told them the condition of the piano immediately, 
made a quick rough estimate for rebuild, and declined to 
attempt any patch up. I would have ABSOLUTELY not moved it 
without them knowing exactly what they were wasting money on.


> My real question is, what do you do when you cannot find a brand?  How 
> do you estimate the year, or decade at least?  

You could fake it, call it a Steinweigh or Harborfreight, and 
guess. Or you could tell them the truth that without a name, 
you can't look up the date. The age of the piano will shortly 
be of little concern to them anyway when they find they can't 
turn it into a family heirloom for another $200.

Ron N